LOTTERY MARKS MAJOR MILESTONE WITH 10TH ANNIVERSARYThursday, January 23, 2014

Media Contact:Kym Gerlock

615-324-6556 Office

Announcing another record quarter and the current total of more than $2.91 billion raised for education-related programs, the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation marked the 10th anniversary of the first day of ticket sales on January 20.
The Corporation celebrated this milestone anniversary with a short program at the Lottery’s Nashville headquarters, where officials unveiled a new logo, honored retailer partners with a Board Resolution, and launched a series of TV spots paying tribute to the HOPE Scholars who have benefitted from the Lottery’s record breaking performance.

“For 10 years now, the Lottery has enjoyed fantastic support from Tennesseans throughout the state, which explains our solid and consistent gains year after year,” said Rebecca Hargrove, Lottery President and CEO. “Be it from our many players, our network of 5,000 retailers, or the legion of scholarship recipients and their families, the response to the Lottery from the first day has been overwhelming. As we enter the next decade, we’re dedicated to making sure the years ahead prove just as fun for our players and as productive for the good causes we serve.”
The Lottery continued its strong performance with a new record set for second quarter sales and proceeds for education. In this time period alone, Oct. 1, 2013 through Dec. 31, 2013, the Lottery posted $85 million raised for state education programs and an impressive $352.7 million in sales, a jump of $19.7 million or 5.9%, from the same period last year.

On track for a 10th consecutive year of sales growth, the Lottery’s sales for the first half of
FY 2014 now stand at $691.1 million—6.9% ahead of the same period last year.

While the Lottery reports on a fiscal year basis, here are some details about the Lottery’s first 10 years (Jan. 20, 2004 through Jan. 19, 2014):

• More than $2.91 billion raised for education
• More than $11.2 billion in gross ticket sales
• Nearly $6.8 billion in prizes won by players
• More than $733 million paid in retailer commissions
• 131 winning tickets worth $1 million or more, including the recent $61 million Mega Millions jackpot won by a Nashville resident

Apart from these ten year figures, the Tennessee Lottery’s strong performance is reflected in industry comparisons. These include:

• A record-setting nine years of consecutive sales growth from inception, unprecedented among U.S. lotteries.
• 1st among U.S lotteries for compounded annual growth in sales over last six years.
• Through FY 2013, Gross Sales increased an average of 6.3% annually since FY 2005. This compares to an overall industry growth of 3.6% during that same time period. Exceeding the industry growth rate in this fashion has resulted in over $ 250.9 million in additional sales for the Lottery.
• Through FY 2013, Total Education Funding increased an average of 5.0% annually since FY 2005. This compares to an overall industry growth of 2.6% during that same time period. Exceeding the industry growth in this fashion has resulted in over $52.3 million in additional funding for Tennessee education programs.
• From FY 2005 through FY 2013, Lottery operating expenses (that is, all costs other than prizes, retailer commissions and major gaming vendors’ fees) have remained relatively flat, averaging only 2.8 % of gross sales.
According to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, the organization that oversees the Lottery-funded higher education programs, Lottery funds were used to assist approximately 103,000 students at higher education institutions in the state during the past academic year, bringing the total since inception to over 800,000. Lottery funds were also used to support after-school programs and an initiative designed to make schools more energy-efficient.
For more information, please visit www.tnlottery.com. For information about Lottery-funded scholarships, visit www.collegepaystn.com. To see a county-by-county breakdown of the number of students who benefit, visit www.seehowitaddsup.com.
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